Large ice shelter

mlee · #1 12-02-2019, 01:49 PM

I'm in the market for a large ice shelter now that the kids have taken to ice fishing a bit. Would need to comfortably fit 2 adults and 3 or 4 kids and will likely splurge for insulated.
Looks like my options are the Cabelas wide bottom the other XTH and the eskimo 19250i with the cabelas being the cheapest. I dont mind spending the money but only want to spend it once so looking for real world experience and opinions as far as room ease of setup and weight.

Talking moose · #2 12-02-2019, 02:04 PM

I think it’s gonna be a tight fit with 6 people in a tent. I find ice tents a lot like camping tents. When it says 4 man it’s good for 2, 5 man good fit 3...... etc.... especially with gear and tackle and multiple holes all over. Maybe I just need more elbow room than most though... hope it works out.

mlee · #3 12-02-2019, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talking moose

I think it’s gonna be a tight fit with 6 people in a tent. I find ice tents a lot like camping tents. When it says 4 man it’s good for 2, 5 man good fit 3...... etc.... especially with gear and tackle and multiple holes all over. Maybe I just need more elbow room than most though... hope it works out.

I realize even a 7-8 person shelter is really only comfortable for 4....not expecting an over abundance of room with 5-6....plus I still will have my 3 man to use as overflow if needed. It's not going to be often we have all the kids on the ice but I'm sure there are a few guys on here with experience ramming their large shelters full....

Etownpaul · #4 12-02-2019, 09:54 PM

My buddy has the big Cabelas tent and it’s the primary tent I fish out of. We usually fish 3 guys out of it with tons of room, but have fished 6 adults out of it with no issues.

Funny story about that Cabelas tent, we were out on the ice on a super windy day last year. We drilled in the anchors to stop the tent from blowing away. As we were packing up I thought there was one anchor left holding the tent down when I let go of it. I was wrong. The tent did end over end cartwheels 400 yards to shore then smashed into a stand of trees. My buddy was livid and I told him I’d buy him a new tent if it was broke because of my negligence. The tent was totally fine. Used it again several times after that and zero problems. I’d say it’s a quality product if it can hold up to that kind of abuse lol.

DOGFISH · #5 12-02-2019, 10:30 PM

I use an Eskimo 6120i. Very wide 9'8 across. Gets full with 6 but manageable. Draw back is that it is 50 lbs. Worth it in my opinion. Very quiet inside when the wind is howling , and like most hub tents very easy to set up and take down.

SamSteele · #6 12-03-2019, 11:56 AM

I have the Eskimo Quickfish 6i from Cabelas. They go on sale quite a bit and have an insulated roof, but not the walls. The insulation is nice, but it adds a lot of weight and gets stiff when its quite cold. Especially if there is any amount of condensation inside.

I think the octagon tents have more floor space than the "double popup" style like mine so I would probably look at that style in order to maximize space.

I did have one of my support arms break on my Quickfish, but Eskimo was really good and sent me two replacements so I had a spare.

SS

honker_clonker · #7 12-03-2019, 01:03 PM

If you go with the Otter, watch the zippers on the doors. I had the zippers totally fail on my Resort XTH within 4 times of using it. Got a new one on warranty, but I now cave in the wall with the door to take pressure off the zipper when opening/closing the door. Great tent, just not wild about the zips.